Land Rover Defender Hard Top REVEALED as the new Defender goes ‘Commercial’

The Land Rover Defender Hard Top arrives as a commercial Defender, and with the resurrected ‘Hard Top’ moniker, in 90 and 110 guises.

Is the new Land Rover Defender a worthy successor to the original iconic model? Well, that depends on who you ask, but there’s little doubt the new Defender is as capable as a Defender should be, although its reliance on complicated electronic systems to deliver, and its not exactly affordable pricing, does make it a very different beast.

So the arrival of the Land Rover Defender Hard Top – ‘Hard Top’ being the badge used for the enclosed version of the Defender Series from 1950 – should give us a more rugged take on the Land Rover, one more suited to traversing the jungle or building site and ‘working’; for its living. Which it sort of does.

Out go all the back seats – so it seems there will be no ‘Double Cab’ versions –  and the back windows, and the wheels come as standard steelies, with independent coil-sprung suspension (air suspension is an option on the 110) and available in 90 and 110 body styles.

Rugged and ‘Workhorse’ the new Defender Hard Top may be, but it still boasts complicated electronics like the Pivi Pro infotainment, OTA updates, Advanced Driver Assistance systems, 3D surround camera and Remote Smartphone App.

The Defender Hard Top is being built by Land Rover’s SVO, and MD Michael van der Sande said:

We will maximise the functionality and usability of New Defender’s cargo area, with tough materials and clever storage solutions to ensure it surpasses the capability of any previous Defender Hard Top.

Due to launch later in the year, before which we’ll get more details, the Defender Hard Top will cost from £35k plus VAT. Which, unless you’re a business which can claim it back, means a starting price of £42k. Which is nearly £2k more than the starting point for the regular Defender 90.